House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters, both Democrats from California, struck two different tones Tuesday as they discussed the impeachment of President Trump.
At the Time 100 Summit in New York, Pelosi said she did not consider the group calling for Trump to be removed from office to be part of “a growing number” of people, citing a Politico/Morning Consult poll published this week.
“I don’t think there is big division in our caucus about this. There are some people who are more eager for impeachment, many more eager to just follow the investigation where it is,” she told the audience. “In the same poll that said the president was at 37% (approval), 48% said no to impeachment, 34% said yes to impeachment.”
Pelosi also told the crowd she expected to meet Trump next week at the White House to negotiate a bipartisan infrastructure package and reiterated many of the talking points she shared with her members during a caucus-wide conference call on Monday.
“I do believe that all of us in public office, especially if there are any additional responsibilities, have a duty to the American people to keep us together … Impeachment is one of the most divisive forces, paths that we can go down to in our country,” Pelosi said on Tuesday, adding that while the facts may “lead” Congress to oust Trump, they are not there yet.
But Waters took to Twitter during Pelosi’s appearance to reaffirm her desire for impeachment. She warned Trump that the release of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report last week detailing the findings from the federal Russia probe did not mean it was “game over” for the president.
“Ninety percent of the calls and mail I’m receiving in my office support impeachment of Trump and so do I. Dems divided. The impeachment resolution must start with & be taken up by the Judiciary Committee. Rep. Nadler is the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee,” Waters said in a string of tweets. “Mueller kicked the impeachment ball to the Congress. The Constitution gives the responsibility to Congress to impeach an unfit president – ‘high crimes and misdemeanors. What more do we need? #impeach45”
Ninety percent of the calls and mail I’m receiving in my office support impeachment of Trump and so do I. Dems divided. The impeachment resolution must start with & be taken up by the Judiciary Committee. Rep. Nadler is the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
— Maxine Waters (@RepMaxineWaters) April 23, 2019
Mueller kicked the impeachment ball to the Congress. The Constitution gives the responsibility to Congress to impeach an unfit president – “high crimes and misdemeanors.” What more do we need? #impeach45
— Maxine Waters (@RepMaxineWaters) April 23, 2019
The conflicting comments from two top House Democrats come after Waters told her colleagues on the call Monday that she was backing leadership’s decision to first pursue congressional inquiries before taking more drastic action against Trump. Waters said she would not rally fellow lawmakers to her cause, although she would continue to talk about impeachment.
